Spiced Black Beans

This spiced black bean curry is something you won’t find on most menus. It’s a dry-style curry where the beans cook with bell peppers, carrots, roasted peanuts, and sliced oranges in a ginger-cumin-coriander spice blend finished with sherry and lemon juice. Unusual? Absolutely. But every ingredient earns its place.

Starting from dried, soaked beans rather than canned gives you a firmer texture and a pot of flavorful bean stock that becomes the finishing liquid. The quick 10-minute hard boil followed by a 20-minute simmer cooks the beans through while keeping them whole and intact.

Frying the onion and garlic first, then adding the spices for another 2 minutes, blooms the cumin, coriander, and grated ginger in the hot oil. This step unlocks their essential oils and deepens the flavor in a way that simply dumping raw spices into the pot can’t match.

The orange slices are the wildcard. Cooked into the curry, they soften and release their juice, adding a sweet citrus note that pairs surprisingly well with the earthy beans and warm spices. The extra orange slices as garnish double down on that brightness.

Roasted peanuts add protein and a crunchy contrast against the tender beans and soft vegetables.

Kitchen Tips

• Keep this curry dry, not soupy. Add only 2 tablespoons of the reserved bean stock. You want a thick, scoopable consistency
• Use fresh green chili for heat rather than dried. It gives a sharper, more immediate kick that works better in a dry curry
• Shoyu (naturally brewed soy sauce) adds umami depth. Regular soy sauce works as a substitute
• Serve over steamed rice or with warm flatbread to soak up the spiced juices

Variations

• Swap black beans for chickpeas for a lighter, more traditional Indian-style curry
• Add diced sweet potato with the carrots for a heartier, sweeter version
• Stir in a tablespoon of coconut cream at the end for a richer finish